Laws: Result of the lawless few

Break down nearly every law established in this country, and it inevitably can be deciphered that, in most cases, the law was established due to the poor judgment or intentional actions of an individual.

Laws are changed every year; more than 40,000 new laws were established in 2012 alone. The federal book of laws is currently more than 200,000 pages long.

What does this say about our society?

We have moved about as far away from personal responsibility and now have to spell out what is unlawful to accommodate the growing number of individuals who act uncivilized or without regard to fellow citizens.

On a smaller scale, we can see just how these laws become necessary by looking at a small homeowners association.

In a typical neighborhood that does not have an HOA, we can readily see why so many neighborhoods have adopted an HOA program, from painting your house an obscene color, (“Hey, it’s my right to express my personal taste in stucco color!”), to letting your landscaping take on a “natural” look that might include tumbleweeds, discarded beverage bottles and parking your car on blocks in the middle of your front yard. All these actions tend to diminish the appearance of a neighborhood and usually are done by those who have little regard to the rights — or property values — of those around them.

More recently, we have new laws regarding texting and driving. Clearly, distracted driving is hazardous to everyone around. Yet, we have individuals who insist on texting while driving. So we now need laws to prohibit this obviously dangerous activity, a law that is often ignored and can lead to devastation of lives and property.

Laws of the road, from speeding to running stop signs, from tailgating to driving a car unfit for the road, are in most cases implemented to protect others from the unsafe activities of individuals while driving a motor vehicle. When a person does something that is done with full knowledge of the potential ramifications of their action, laws become necessary to help prevent these individuals from causing potential harm to others. Yet, many see some laws as an infringement of their personal rights. And, in some ways, laws certainly can take on that appearance. Look at what we have to go through at airports today!

It says something about a society when tens of thousands of laws become necessary to survive as a population. It says that individuals have become less accountable and less responsible. It says that we, as a civilization, have become … well, less civilized.

I believe that the number of laws a society has enacted reflects the downward spiral of societal failure as it relates to being contemptuous toward fellow man, disregarding personal responsibility, and, in many cases, lacking a general comprehension of knowing right from wrong.

I guess the Ten Commandments has grown considerably since biblical times. But then, Moses didn’t drive a car, fly in an airplane or live in a HOA.